Chapter 593: Battle Lines Drawn

Beep. Our entry ranking this time: 3.

The current national entry order is: Huaxia, Vietnam, South Korea…

…

Dizziness. Headache.

When Park Chan-eun awoke, he was shocked to find that he and his group had landed right in the midst of a horde of zombies.

The moment his eyes opened, he saw a ghastly maw lunging straight for his nose.

A foul, rotting stench invaded his nostrils—as if the zombie had just torn off a fresh strip of intestine and still had slimy excrement clinging to its mouth.

Roar!!

Amid the relentless roars echoing around him, Park Chan-eun’s gaze turned icy. In an instant, a bolt of lightning surged from his eyes, vaporizing the zombie charging at him.

Disgusting creature!

Glancing casually around, a flash of impatience crossed his eyes.

To his mind, dozens of zombies—with skin barely decayed—had reacted as soon as they detected more living beings. With a low, decisive roar, they abandoned their half-devoured arms and charged forward, teeth bared.

Although they posed no real threat, they were undeniably repulsive.

Especially that one which nearly managed to nip at his face!

“A… super low difficulty world?”

“Boom!!”

Purple lightning burst forth suddenly.

Electric surges erupted; bolts as thick as fingers sprang up from his feet, forming a lethal net that in the blink of an eye turned the surrounding zombies to char.

Even though he merely tapped a fraction of his spirit energy, the electrical attack—powered by his Peak Third-Stage might—was far beyond what these low-level zombies could withstand.

The entire area fell silent in an instant.

After a single sweep cleared the field and his team gradually came to, Park Chan-eun clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Everyone! The scene we’ve landed in is a low-level national battlefield!”

“That means unlike previous national clashes, the system likely wants us to go straight into combat instead of just testing our survival skills!”

“So, the drop points for each nation should be more or less similar! There’s no other reason!”

Having taken part in countless national skirmishes, even though Park Chan-eun loved to show off, he still maintained the necessary discipline.

Maybe he just enjoyed taking charge.

Almost as soon as he realized they were inside a shopping mall, he quickly deduced the main objective of this battle.

However, when he noticed that his battle zone was assigned as the third drop, his expression darkened with displeasure.

That ranking isn’t too low, but it clearly showed that, in the system’s evaluation, the South Korean Battle Zone was rated third from last.

“Something’s… not right…”

He frowned.

This time, the South Korean Battle Zone has six Peak Third-Stage fighters along with ninety-four Third-Stage Advanced combatants.

In the past, that force was considered among the strongest. Now, with his own power surging once again, he had imagined that his group might be the second to arrive—or even the first!

“Looks like every nation has sent a substantial force this round. I’d bet the intensity is far higher than before.”

His irritation simmered beneath the surface.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Park Chan-eun began to strategize his next moves.

With every battle zone dispatching more troops, it meant he might not clinch first place this time.

Luckily, he had already allied with the Southeast Asia Joint Battle Zone; otherwise, things might have gotten really messy.

Of course, he knew the system rated battle zones not by raw combat ability, but solely by level and overall spirit energy.

Maybe other zones appeared stronger on the surface, but Park Chan-eun was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone!

In previous national battles, he’d merely played a minor role—his performance hardly memorable.

But this time, the national battle would be his moment to shine!

“You all must have noticed—we’re the third to drop in!”

“The previous battle zone was…”

“Huh?”

“Is the weakest really the Huaxia Battle Zone?”

The moment he checked the drop details, he saw that the Huaxia Battle Zone had registered three hours earlier. Park Chan-eun was momentarily stunned.

Much like with the Vietnam Battle Zone, after a brief shock, elation flashed in his eyes.

“The weakest is Huaguo!? And unbelievably weak!?”

“Damn it! Is that for real!?”

In that instant, after repeated confirmations among his team, excited shouts erupted one after another.

Everyone present was at Third-Stage! It was easy to deduce from the drop times that the Huaxia Battle Zone was rated as such by the system!

For a moment, all eyes met—a glimmer of ambition was unmistakable in each gaze.

Eliminate the Huaxia Battle Zone!

Capture them!

The news is real!

It was undeniable—everyone’s thinking was strikingly similar.

Had Park Chan-eun seen the Vietnam Battle Zone’s reaction, he would have noticed that their responses were nearly identical.

Knowing full well that Huaguo’s border troops were in deep trouble and that they were the weakest in this battle, adrenaline surged in every heart!

Even the North Korean Awakener wore a puzzled expression.

Huaguo…

Has it really become that weak?

This is a national battle, after all…

A battle zone that can barely field an army—does that mean it’s even weaker than a minor faction in Korea?

With such weakness, it’s no wonder neighboring nations are eager to strike…

“Captain! Let’s hurry and find them! I heard the Vietnam Battle Zone dropped in an hour before us; maybe they’ve already tracked down the Huaguo forces!”

“Three hours? Who knows where those Huaguo fighters have fled!”

Impulsive. Excited.

Realizing that the Huaxia Battle Zone was the easy target in this national battle, the South Korean Awakener was itching to take them on immediately.

The battle is scored by points. With every nation deploying top-tier forces to secure high rankings and minimize casualties, the obvious plan was to target and eliminate the Huaguo fighters first!

Just as Park Chan-eun felt the surge of impulse and was about to set off, a discordant voice suddenly rang out from the North Korean team.

“Something’s not right!”

“Look at this! The rankings show the Huaxia Battle Zone currently in first place! Based on the points, they must have taken down several Third-Stage Advanced and Peak Third-Stage Awakener fighters!”

“Before we even dropped in, only the Vietnam Battle Zone was active!”

“That means the Vietnam Battle Zone was definitely on our wavelength—and they rushed to hunt down the Huaguo forces!”

He spoke rapidly.

A lean North Korean Awakener looked on with a grave expression.

Unlike Park Chan-eun and the others, who were too impatient to check the scores, the cautious North Korean Awakener immediately spotted the irregular ranking!

“Huh!?”

He paused at the sound.

Though not entirely pleased with the North Koreans’ attitude, Park Chan-eun said nothing as he quickly scanned through the details.

Sure enough.

After glancing over the leaderboard, the South Korean Awakener was visibly taken aback, his face etched with confusion.

“Captain… it really does seem that way.”

“Could it be that the Vietnam Battle Zone got counter-attacked?”

“And according to the points breakdown, it seems the Vietnam Battle Zone hasn’t taken down a single Huaguo fighter!”

“That can’t be right! Could it be that the Huaguo Battle Zone actually deployed hidden strong fighters that the system doesn’t acknowledge!?”

He reacted swiftly.

It was exactly as Yenir had deduced.

At that moment, the South Korean team suddenly became aware of a points anomaly.

Had he not deliberately held back and refrained from killing too many from the Vietnam side, his team would have inferred even more by now.

Silently, after repeatedly scrutinizing the rankings, Park Chan-eun’s expression shifted before he finally spoke through a furrowed brow:

“It’s impossible… there’s no way such a thing exists.”

“Even if the system merely computes raw power, Peak Third-Stage is still Peak Third-Stage… there’s no way the overall strength of those Huaguo trash could surpass their rating!”

“That must be…”

“It has to be that those Vietnamese brutes are too weak!”

As he spoke, Park Chan-eun sneered; by all logic, that was the only conclusion he could reach.

Exactly! It must be that those Vietnamese brutes are too feeble, and in their haste to chase the Huaguo fighters, they ended up causing an unexpected mess!

Almost certain of his deduction, he seemed to have an epiphany, and with confident conviction he spoke again:

“Just think about it! If the Huaguo fighters were truly strong, then why did so few perish in their clash?!”

“If I’m not mistaken, it was most likely that the Vietnamese brutes rushed in only to be caught in a trap set by the Huaxia Battle Zone!”

“Those cowardly brutes, weak as they are, wouldn’t dare to continue the chase!”

“Only that can explain these rankings!”

His voice was resolute.

As if replaying the battle in his mind, Park Chan-eun quickly laid out his reasoning, earning immediate agreement from his comrades.

None of them were fools.

By all logic, his simulated battle scenario was likely accurate!

For a moment, all the Awakeners in the area heaved a collective sigh of relief, while those who had been deeply worried flashed admiring smiles.

“Captain, I agree! Your experience lets you spot issues at a glance!”

“Hah, some folks get spooked at the slightest hint of trouble.”

“Oh, I’m talking about those Vietnamese brutes.”

He implied as much.

Perhaps sharing the same discontent with the North Korean team’s attitude toward their captain, a few South Korean Awakeners couldn’t help but snidely remark.

They knew Huaguo’s internal issues—and at the border, those Huaguo fighters were being slaughtered without any chance to fight back!

Bolstered by their confidence, they either didn’t see or refused to acknowledge any problem.

Listening to the South Korean Awakeners’ taunts, the North Korean Peak Third-Stage fighter’s face darkened instantly.

After a brief moment of reflection, he reluctantly admitted that Park Chan-eun’s reasoning was sound.

“I still think we need to be cautious!”

After a brief pause, the lean Awakener said no more.

He knew full well that even if things went awry, both sides in the national battle would have to act together.

“Hah, I’ll be careful. If you’re scared, just stick behind us.”

With a light chuckle, Park Chan-eun casually glanced at the Peak Third-Stage fighter without a second thought.

The fighter smiled confidently and, in a measured tone, declared:

“Alright, everyone!”

“Now that we’ve assessed the situation, follow my orders for the next steps!”

“First of all! Although it’s odd that the Huaxia Battle Zone managed a counterattack on the Vietnam Battle Zone, that’s actually a good sign!”

“I believe they unleashed plenty of hidden tricks to intimidate those Vietnamese brutes. If they truly had the power, why wouldn’t they have taken out more of them!?”

“So, as they wear each other down, we stand to benefit from their clash!”

“Moreover, those Vietnamese brutes must have caught wind of the Huaguo fighters’ location! As long as we track either side, we’ll amass plenty of points!”

After a brief analysis, Park Chan-eun raised his hand and issued his orders without hesitation:

“Now, split into three groups. One team head to the city’s surveillance system and check for any traces left by either side!”

“Another group, follow me to comb the surrounding area. The remaining North Koreans—move freely and join us once we locate the Huaguo fighters!”

After issuing his commands swiftly, Park Chan-eun smiled confidently.

Though the points in the national battle are shared, the final rewards certainly are not!

In his view, whether it was the Vietnamese brutes or those Huaxia weaklings, they were all easy prey—they hadn’t even had time to hide yet.

One kill equals one gain! He wasn’t about to let the reward slip away!

Especially if…

“If I can locate them quickly enough, maybe I can wipe out both nations before the other battle zones even drop in!”

Even if achieving that was only possible because the Huaxia Battle Zone was feeble—with probably only one or two Peak Third-Stage fighters—the mere thought of claiming to have taken down two enemy national teams sent his heart racing!

This national battle is my ticket to ultimate fame!

But at that very moment, completely unbeknownst to Park Chan-eun and his team…

Atop the shopping mall, a security camera suddenly pivoted.

…..

The core surveillance room on the top floor of the Administration Building.

Having hacked into the entire city’s surveillance system, Yenir calmly watched the South Korean Awakeners through the camera.

Honestly, he had only picked a nearby city at random to wait for the next batch of Awakeners.

But he never expected that the city he chose would actually be the drop point for the third batch of nations.

Perhaps the system hadn’t planned to scatter everyone too far—the drop locations for each nation were remarkably close.

Ignoring the chaos on the feed—zombies feasting everywhere—Yenir smirked as he watched the scene focused on the South Koreans.

Seeing Park Chan-eun brimming with confidence and intent on the chase, Yenir chuckled softly and shook his head.

“Moron fool…”

He stood up.

At his command, four Peak Third-Stage Awakeners instantly appeared before him, dropping to their knees.

“Let’s go give these bastards a surprise.”